How Swim GP may have given a glimpse of the future of para-sport

Detailed summary

Swim GP's all-action, high-octane racing is designed to provide a boost for Australia's swimmers in the lead-up to LA28 and Brisbane 2032, and puts para-swimming front and centre.

Swim GP's made for TV, all-action racing format has proven a hit with swimmers and spectators alike.

But the biggest benefit may well be the innovations that placed para-swimmers front and centre of the competition at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatics Centre.

In front of a sold-out crowd, four teams: Kraken, Wahoo, King Tide and Tsunami, competed in a variety of races ranging from skins events through to mystery medley relays.

"It is an opportunity for our athletes, our Paralympic team and our Olympic team, to come together and really showcase what they do," Swimming Australia Paralympic head coach Mel Tantrum said ahead of Saturday's evening events.

"This is about building the brand, building the profile of the athletes, swimming in prime time in preparation for the next six years."

Swim GP is not a new idea, and indeed has built on the concepts reintroduced at last year's Australia vs the World in Brisbane.

However, crucially, Swim GP has seen para-swimmers take a leading role.

Swimming Australia chief executive Rob Woodhouse told ABC Sport that involving the para-swimmers "was one of the most important factors" and a "no-brainer" in Swim GP's planning for a couple of reasons.

"Both our head coaches, Mel Tantrum and Rohan Taylor, they absolutely want a packed stadium for our trials, ideally Sydney next year, but particularly the Olympic/Paralympic trials in '28 in Chandler, one of the reasons being, for the Olympics, SoFi Stadium, with 40,000 screaming Americans and Long Beach for the Paralympics," Woodhouse said.

Opening of the article, excerpted from ABC News Australia. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.